Top 10 Search Engines You Can Use to Search the Web Privately

Before we list the top 10 search engines for anonymous browsing, we will first let you know why we didn’t include Google in the list. Search Engines are truly a blessing. And, Google is considered the best blessing you can find in World Wide Web! It covers almost every part of the web, brings the results in a convenient format. Not just that, it even gets you personalized search results.

However, as we consider the case of privacy, Google pathetically fails to maintain its position. In fact, Google is the worst search engine when you care about your privacy. And, with NSA and other surveillance on the scene, it is necessary that we should deal with the privacy aspect. It needs to be noted that other popular search engines like Bing and Yahoo are also into this tracking.

The basic thing you can do is to use a privacy-friendly search engine. These search engines are also known as private search engines because they don’t collect or store information from you. Here, in this article, we have the list top 10 search engines for your privacy needs. Shifting to one of these top 10 search engines other than Google is the first step of going anonymous.

Top 10 Search Engines other than Google

1. DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo is the best search engine when you need optimal privacy for searches you perform! For years, it’s been a noted search engine service that does not track its customers. Neither the search logs nor the IP addresses shall be stored in DuckDuckGo servers. DuckDuckGo is the result of a community’s effort to get a search engine that can be completely free from tracking. In case if you are interested, you can join the DuckDuckGo community for involving in its activities.

Talking about search engine experience, DuckDuckGo is simple and effective simultaneously. It’s up to you to enable ads or not; even when ads are there, results are arranged cleanly. DuckDuckGo works in partnership with Yahoo and has brought several features too. For instance, there’s Smarter Search that brings you answers quickly.

2. StartPage

StartPage calls itself the most private search engine in the world! It means that when you search for something via StartPage, your information won’t be revealed. The best part about StartPage is that it isn’t a new search engine that is limited in terms of crawling and all.

On the other hand, StartPage shows you an enhanced version of Google SERP. You will be getting all the benefits of Google Search, but can escape from the tracking and surveillance.

As a search engine, StartPage brings you cool features. First of all, the search engine results are available in a minimalistic form, and you don’t have much to customize. All you can do is to filter results based on the time of publishing. That having said you have the option to perform an advanced search. Altogether, StartPage is one of the top 10 advanced search engines for those who care for effectiveness and simplicity.

3. Hulbee

Among the many search engines out there, Hulbee can be considered as one of the top 10 alternative search engines 2018 for Google and is noted for the privacy protection and effectiveness.

When you’d use Hulbee.com for searching purpose, neither your IP address nor other identifiable information will be collected by the servers. You can also be protected from other trends of privacy-stealing advertising techniques. For instance, you can get away from cookies, geo-targeting and even those silly government requests. Unless there is something really serious is involved, Hulbee.com won’t transfer the information to any Government.

The search result interface is an impressive one, we would say. Not just simple results but advanced options like ‘Shopping’ and ‘Music’ are also given in Hulbee pages. It even has a dedicated music player to play the music you find through search.

4. Lukol

Lukol is another anonymous search engine that protects your privacy. This is the best option if you want to retain the same Google Search results.

Lukol works in a simple method. Instead of connecting you to Google directly, a proxy is used in-between. So, your personal information won’t be available for Google. It means you won’t be tracked by the internet giant.

The search results page of Lukol is not that viewer-friendly. Still, it can show the information in a quick manner. Along with the web-based results, you can have related news in the right sidebar of the page. Altogether, it seems that Lukol can be categorized in other search engines besides Google for those who needs Google results in a simpler, anonymous form.

5. Gigablast

Gigablast is a different search engine when compared to the others on the list. It’s an alternative search engine that has open source as well. So, there are no kinds of plans about putting users under surveillance. So, when you search for something via Gigablast, you can be sure about not being tracked. So, it’s a better deal on privacy and anonymity on the web. Although the result page looks so old, there are options for custom results. For instance, you can change the language preference, timeframe, Family Filter etc in the results section.

6. Wolfram Alpha

Wolfram Alpha is a worth-counting-on search engine when you want privacy with your web life. However, it is to be noted that the search engine is different from others. Instead of showing you common search result, Wolfram Alpha is being a bit more specific.

Practically speaking, you can use the search engine to solve mathematical problems, find abbreviations, solve scientific equations etc. You actually get a bunch of categories that you can perform a search on. The list includes Words and Linguistics, Chemistry, Astronomy, Music, Education, Life Sciences, Technology, Sports and Games etc. The answers you get from Wolfram Alpha are just awesome and you don’t have to worry about privacy. Talking of an example, you can use the search engine to convert some text into Morse code.

7. Yippy

Yippy is another private search engine on this list of top 10 search engines other than Google, but it’s a bit different. When compared to others in the list, Yippy allows advanced customization when it comes to results. There isn’t much you can do on the homepage, but it’s just about a simple search.

However, Yippy provides you better results, according to different algorithms in use. You can filter results based on four factors – clouds, sources, sites and time. It means that you will be able to filter the results based on several factors, such as the website it is from, date published etc. The controls aren’t that much intuitive, but they are surely worth a try.

In addition to in-results-page controls, you can perform Advanced Search or change your Preferences. Along with the customization, Yippy manages to provide best-in-class safety and security for the users. Altogether, it’s surely a search engine you can try out.

8. Oscobo

Oscobo believes that Personal Privacy is a right and the search engine offers the best of privacy. It’s also one of the most effective alternative search engine to Google. Oscobo uses a bunch of techniques to make sure that your search activities are not tracked. It not only does not ask for personal information but also doesn’t track anything while you’re using the service.

There is also a powerful encryption used to ensure the best safety. It also makes sure that no intruders would have access to your search history. Coming to the aspect of looks, Oscobo steals the show for sure. You are going to enjoy the minimal UI used by the website. All the results are stacked in a perfect design and there’s nothing distracting either.

By the way, Oscobo also offers something called the Oscobo Browser, which you can download for free. It’s meant to offer you anonymous browsing experience. Altogether, you can count in Oscobo when it comes to searching the web without being tracked.

9. Gibiru

If you are looking for a truly minimal search engine, you can count on Gibiru! Gibiru promises to offer uncensored and anonymous search engine experience. It’s actually depending on Google to bring you the results, but your identity is not risked at any case.

More specifically, Gibiru is powered by Google Custom Search. Let that be its homepage or its results page, there aren’t many options in Gibiru. You can just enter a search term and you will have a double-tabbed interface in results page one being the Web and other Image. You also have the option to sort the results by Relevance or Date published. In short, Gibiru is quite simple to use. So, if you don’t need much of decorative stuff, you will love it.

10. Disconnect Search

Disconnect Search isn’t actually a search engine. On the contrary, it’s a useful tool that lets you use other search engines with the cover of privacy. In other words, Disconnect Search gives a privacy layer when you use web search engines such as DuckDuckGo, Yahoo and Bing. It used to support Google but the service isn’t available currently. Just before you hit the search button, you can choose the search engine from the trio. And, you can see the results in one dedicated interface, arranged in an easily-accessible manner. The modus operandi of Disconnect Search is simple to understand. When you perform a search, you won’t be seen. It means Bing or Yahoo won’t be tracking you. In case if you are interested, Disconnect Search has an official Chrome extension too.

Top 10 Search Engines for your Privacy Needs – Summing Up

So, you have seen the top 10 search engines that are Privacy-Friendly you can go for. When compared to Google or Bing, they do provide top-class anonymity and data integrity. It has to be noted that not all search engines have the same set of capabilities to offer. Some do give importance to data safety while some consider effectiveness in the first place. So, you need to choose the most appropriate one as per your need.

Abhijith N Arjunan

Reader Interactions

What people are saying

Angelina Grey

Awesome read!
Today’s generation needs privacy in everything!!I had already used duck duck go for purposes of online searching with privacy but always I wanted was the results filtered in accordance with my needs. Bingo!! I found Yippy in your article. Thanks mate for providing an awesome read.

Hello John,
Indeed here another great post. I think you explain amazing about search engine and among them Duck Duck Go is the best search engine as per my view. But another gibiru, Yippe also best. Although thank you for sharing.

I am really glad to have come across a list of the sort and even if not now, it will certainly be of great use! However, I also believe that chrome can still do a great job. It’s Incognito tab work really well and I have nothing to complain about it. Well, not yet!

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